The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Cpl Carl Reiner, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–1946)

Cpl Carl Reiner, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–1946)

Carl Reiner was a multifaceted American entertainer, celebrated for his significant contributions to comedy, television, film, and literature. But did you know that Carl Reiner was also a veteran? Carl Reiner’s World War II service took him from a Signal Corps radio classroom to the Army’s Special Services entertainment units, where he used humor to boost morale across the Pacific instead of fighting on the front lines. That experience not only kept him out of some of the war’s deadliest...

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The Muslim Princess Spy

The Muslim Princess Spy

Noor Inayat Khan was born New Year’s Day 1914 in Moscow to Hazrat Inayat Khan an Indian Sufi mystic of royal lineage and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker, half-sister of Perry Baker, often credited with introducing yoga into America. On her father’s side, she was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the celebrated Muslim ruler of Mysore, who in the 18th Century successfully fought the British, stemming their advance into South India. He was killed in battle in 1799.

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